On The Sidelines
by G.Aileen
Summary: The third and final installment to the Drum Major Status series. Now attending universities at the two different ends of California, Christian and Jessica try to navigate their newly formed relationship from the Summer Tour. Being apart was a lot more difficult than they both thought.


_[A/N]:__ Welcome back, folks! Well, here we are. The third and final installment of the Drum Major Status series. Please, if you have not read the first two, head on over to my account page and find them! And for those that have been following since... (over 10 years ago?), thank you so much for sticking with me. Enjoy!_

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Chapter 1

Jessica

The first semester of college wasn't difficult to adjust to. I had already been living "on my own" before the summer tour and dorm life wasn't all that different. I enjoyed the independence: being able to sleep in, no one dictating what certain foods I should or shouldn't eat or staying out as late as I wanted.

I was living in a two-bedroom suite with another girl, a pre-med major, who wanted nothing to do with me. Karen, that was her name. She would stay in her room and only came out when it was time for class or to eat dinner. She barely spoke to me, and when she did, it was to ask to turn the volume of the TV down because she was studying – which she did all the time. She wasn't a bad roommate though. She kept the place clean, didn't use or steal any of my things, and kept to herself.

The first couple of months were rough. I was beginning to feel lonely, not having made any friends especially with the girl I lived with. Even the one place where I thought I'd find comradery failed me. Band was the only core major class I had the first semester since the rest was me trying to knock out all my general ed classes.

It was a relief to find other female trumpeters, but they seemed to have formed a clique already being older and upperclassmen. The only familiar face was Davis. After marching and ending things with him last summer, he hadn't spoken to me – not even as much as eye contact. It almost felt as if he turned the entire trumpet line against me.

When I had a break between classes, I would head over to the nearest café on campus. It became a routine thing for me that the baristas knew my drink order exactly. Today, I sat by the window contemplating on why I had chosen UC Berkeley to go to school. I felt out of sync here. I knew no one, had no friends, and barely spoke to anyone on a daily basis. My phone buzzed.

Pulling it out of my pocket, my phone blinked a new text message.

"Miss you. How's your day going?" it read. I smiled knowing that he was thinking of me. Christian.

I lied to him. I didn't want him to worry. "It's going well."

"Good news. Finally got those days off I requested. Coming up to see you in a couple of weeks. Soon!"

Soon. He had said that to me before I left for school at the end of last summer. Christian promised he'd visit me soon, but weeks turned to months and we still had not seen each other since. In all honesty, he did have valid explanations for not coming up. He had to drive his dad to his follow-up appointments, studying for midterms, picking up a part-time job… All of those things that were legit explanations felt like excuses.

Part of me didn't believe that he was going to come up. It was already November. Having not seen him for months made me nervous. Yes, we'd been a "couple" before for a few days, but this was different. There was no scheming or lying like there had been before. It was just – us.

My thoughts broke when the barista said my name. I looked up finding him directly beside my table holding a coffee mug. He said my name again as if he knew me. "Jessica? I have your latte ready."

"Sorry," I reached out for my cup. "Thank you." I took a sip of the hot liquid. The barista was about to leave when I stopped him. "Wait, how do you know my name? I don't remember giving it when I ordered."

The boy scratched his head in embarrassment. "Well, you come in here almost every day. I've noticed you." Noticed me? The attention was flattering, yet uncomfortable. "Not like, watching you, stalker-y – "he flustered. "I need to stop talking." And just like that, he shoved his hands in his pocket and walked away. "Sorry," he stopped for a quick second and leaves again.

Returning to my dorm room after the remainder of my classes, I found Karen's room slightly ajar meaning she was out. Normally, when she was present, her room would be shut tight. Finding comfort in being alone, I plopped down on the couch and turned the TV on while pulling my laptop onto my lap. Christian was offline. I shut the computer down and refocused on the television.

A few doors down, I can hear muffled bass through the walls and then an obnoxious group of girls laugh as they passed my suite. It was Friday night so there must have been a dorm party happening. Feeling bored and curious, I decided to see what the commotion was all about.

As soon as I left my room, the sound of music flooded my ears. It must have been a very popular party since the hallways were crowded all the way to the end where the party must have been happening. Pushing through the multitudes of people, I finally found myself at the source of the loud music. I didn't know anyone here which was both comforting and lonely – the same strange feeling that keeps occurring throughout my first semester of school.

In the corner of eye, I notice the awkward barista from the café. He smiles awkwardly at me with a single wave. Would it be rude to walk away after he greeted me? While I was contemplating that question, I hadn't noticed that he already made his way to me.

"Hi again," he sheepishly said while shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Hi – " I pause realizing I didn't know what his name was. Thankfully he answered.

"It's Nick," he pulled out his hand from his pocket and I shook it. "Sorry about earlier today. I get nervous around pretty girls." I was caught off guard. This tall, slender, random, coffee-making boy was hitting on me. But it felt so innocent that I didn't want to hurt his feelings by shutting him down rudely.

"Oh, I – "I begin to explain that I already had a boyfriend when a couple of people he seems to know shows up beside him, a guy and two girls.

Nick awkwardly introduces them to me. He points to each one as he recites their name. "That's Jack, Harper, and my younger sister Nadia."

The last girl corrects Nick. "Younger by a few minutes. Twin sister." She rolls her eyes at him. I introduce myself to the group. "I haven't seen you around here before. You guys have a class together?"

"Oh no," I said. "He just knows my coffee order by heart."

The look on her face changes. "Oh, so you're the coffee girl Nick embarrassed himself in front of today!" She pulled me away from the group and led me to the couch. I could see Nick's look of embarrassment over Nadia's shoulder as she talked.

"So, what's your major?" she changes the topic quickly.

"Music performance."

"Oh, nice!" And before I could ask what hers was, she answers. "Drama major. Actually, all of us are." She pointed back to her group of friends. "That's why we're all kind of loud and obnoxious. Well, except from my brother. He's a double major in theater and vocal. Such a freaking over achiever."

"So, he's a singer?" I questioned, intrigued that I have finally met another music major that hasn't sided with Davis.

"Yep," she sighed. "He got the good genes."

"Are you all freshmen?" I asked, in a desperate attempt to make new friends. She nodded while taking a drink from her red, plastic cup that I just now noticed her holding. Nadia reminded me of my best friend from Riverview, Cassie. They were both loud and unafraid to say what they were thinking. I was drawn by her personality and I knew she was someone I wanted to be my friend.

By the time she finished her drink, her group of friends have joined us on the couch. Nick sat quietly beside me. I decided to strike up a conversation with him.

"So, I hear you're a vocal major?" I spoke loudly over the music, so he could hear. He nodded, not really giving much more to work on. Instead, I return to conversing with Nadia and her less awkward friends.

* * *

Christian

During lecture, all I could keep thinking about was the enormous amount of work I had to get done before my visit to see Jessica. I had no idea how I let my mom convince me to double major, but because of it, I had so much reading, homework, paper writing and rehearsals that I could keep track of. Not only that, but I had gotten a job on top of that. Mr. Trust hired me as an assistant for the fall marching season. It counted as an internship and went towards my credit hours, so I couldn't pass that opportunity up.

My mother could not stop giving me crap about being a music education major that, to shut her up, I'd also double major in business. Of course, I regretted that decision now having mounds of work to do.

I hadn't told Jessica about the double majoring. She knew I was doing music education, but I wasn't quite sure how to bring up the whole thing to her yet. Talking about my mom with her brought up tense memories, so it was difficult to share this information.

One good thing came from this though. I became an expert planner. I planned my days to minute. Wake up at 7, eat breakfast, class at 8, study before lunch, eat, band rehearsal, and then off to the practice rooms. Whatever time I had left was dedicated to completing homework from my general ed classes.

I was busy, but I was so grateful to finally have the time to drive up to Berkeley to spend time with my girlfriend. I hadn't seen her since our goodbye over summer. Guilt filled me as I remembered promising to see her soon. Soon was never meant to be three whole months.

Back at my room, I found my roommate on the couch playing a video game in front of the TV. Our room was small. All that could fit was our two beds and two desks.

"Hey," Ace, the roommate mumbled without looking up from the small television. I threw my backpack onto my bed and myself along with it. Tired from the day, I just wanted to pass out.

My phone buzzed in my pocket. Pulling it out, I saw it was Jessica. A smile crept onto my face as I answered. "Hey, Christian!" I heard her excited, sweet voice.

"Hey, how was your day?" I asked, fully wanting to hear every second she spent of it. She went on telling me about how she woke up, went to classes, had a coffee, had a guy hit on her, went to a party, made some friends… "Wait, a guy hit on you?" I felt something turn in my stomach.

"Yeah, but don't worry," she tried to reassure me. "He's harmless. He knows I have a boyfriend. He apologized and everything. Anyways, he introduced me to his group of friends and I think they're pretty cool."

Hearing her happy and chipper made me drop the whole idea of another guy hitting on my girlfriend. She made friends though, which I was glad to hear about. I knew she was getting lonely though she tried to hide it from me. "How was your day?" she asked me.

"Exhausting. Just did a lot of studying. Can't wait to see you though. I miss you." I was glad my roommate had a headset on and couldn't hear how affectionate I was being.

"Just a few more days," she encouraged.

"Just a few…" before I knew it I was asleep.

_A few days later_

I was sitting in lecture watching the seconds hand tick by slowly. Ah, God. Why was this class taking forever? It was Friday and I was skipping rest of my classes to start my drive up to Berkeley to surprise Jessica. When the minute hand finally hit the number 12, I bolted out of that classroom. I already packed my duffel bag and it was in the bed of my truck.

The drive was long, but I had nearly three cups of coffee in anticipation of finally seeing Jessica after all these months. Tired, but awake and on edge, I finally reached the city. Looking around, I found Berkeley cramped and busy. Parking on the street, which I hoped was free parking, I was finally in front of Jessica's building. I wished I brought along a bouquet of flowers just to tease her about hating flowers.

"Christian?" I hear a voice from across the street. I turned to find my former co-drum major running towards me. She tackles me into a hug that I almost fall back into my truck. "You're early," she says into my shirt without letting go.

We stood there holding each other for what seemed like an eternity but at the same time ends too quickly. I held her at arm's length and took a good look at her examining every inch of the girl that I missed so much. Her hair had grown out longer, but she still looked the same. "Surprised?" I asked with hopeful eyes.

"Yep." She smiled at me and it took everything in me to stop me from grabbing onto her tightly and kissing her in public. "Perfect timing, too. I was about to head out to dinner. Are you hungry?"

"Starving." I grabbed my back from my truck and followed her to her room. Her place was much bigger than mine. I marveled at all the space that she and her roommate had. "Where's the roommate?"

"Who knows," she answered nonchalantly. She dropped her trumpet case and backpack into a corner of the suite. "You can leave your stuff in my room." There was a sudden realization that hit me. We were going to spend the night together. In her bed. Well, only if she wanted. Thankfully, there was a couch in their living room just in case. "Ready?"


End file.
